


Running Into The Ex

by LieselSolo



Category: Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Gen, Han and Qi'ra Reunite, Light Angst, Lovers to Friends, Male Friendship, Parents Leia Organa and Han Solo, Past Qi’ra/Han Solo, Post-Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:22:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29015052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LieselSolo/pseuds/LieselSolo
Summary: Guys' Night Out turns awkward when Han realizes that Qi'ra is at the same bar.
Relationships: Ben Solo & Han Solo, Chewbacca & Han Solo, Lando Calrissian & Han Solo, Leia Organa/Han Solo, Qi'ra & Han Solo
Kudos: 13





	Running Into The Ex

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MasterOf4Elements](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MasterOf4Elements/gifts).



> My friend MasterOf4Elements requested a fic where Han runs into Qi'ra again and tells her about Leia and Ben. It ended up going places I hadn't expected.

Guys’ night out was supposed to be a stress relief, not a stress inducer.

It started as a normal night at the bar. Han, Chewie, Luke, and Lando in their normal booth by the window, gulping down beers while listening to the rock music the band was playing. By now they were tipsy, but not drunk enough to lose their senses or become unobservant of their surroundings.

That was when Lando tapped Han on the shoulder. 

“Han, look!” he said, pointing a finger at the bar, an astonished look on his face. “Damn, is that really her?”

“Who?” Han asked, more interested in his drink than whoever Lando was pointing out. 

_“Qi’ra,_ you dope!”

Han froze mid-drink while Chewie growled that if Han wanted him to pull her arms off, he’d gladly oblige. 

Luke’s eyes, meanwhile, were bulging in that boyish manner. “Qi’ra? You mean Han’s ex Qi’ra? Which one is she?”

“Wait?” Han exclaimed. “How the hell do you know about Qi’ra?”

Luke shrugged. “You told me about her once when you were drunk.”

Chewie and Lando both snickered while Han hunched over, not daring to actually look at the bar. If Lando was right and Qi’ra really was here, who knew what the hell she’d say if she recognized him? He’d assumed she was probably dead by now, or even if she was alive, there was no possible way their paths would cross again. At least 3PO wasn’t here to tell him the odds.

Maybe if he just ignored her, she wouldn’t notice he was here.

But of course, there was no such luck. Only a few minutes later there was an accented voice exclaiming, “Lando? Chewie? _Han?”_ It was deeper now, but still instantly recognizable. 

“Qi’ra!” Lando exclaimed, grinning as if it hadn’t been almost twenty years. “Good to see you!”

With that, the woman from the bar made her way to their table almost in rhythm to the music. She’d gained weight since Han last saw her – though Han supposed he had too. Her once youthful face now carried the dignity of someone nearing forty and her auburn hair was now cut to chin-length, similar to how short her hair had been on Corellia. 

“Well, this is a surprise,” she was saying, running her finger around the rim of her drink. “I didn’t even know you remembered me.”

“Come on, who could forget such a lovely face as yours?” said Lando, kissing Qi’ra’s hand in his usual manner while Chewie growled a Wookiee swear word at her. Han found himself wishing that social norms would allow him to hide under the table. 

Luke, meanwhile, awkwardly cleared his throat. “So . . . you’re Qi’ra? I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“And I’ve _definitely_ heard a lot about you, Luke Skywalker,” said Qi’ra. “Of course, the entire galaxy has.”

Han felt his teeth start to grind at the woman who left him alone chatting casually with Luke as if they were old friends. What _right_ did she think she had to waltz back into his life fifteen years after stabbing him in the back? Okay, it wasn’t like she’d _known_ Han would be here tonight, but still. Hell, she could have gotten the info that the famous Luke Skywalker and his friends liked to come here most weekend nights, so maybe she _was_ here on purpose.

And if she knew about the famous Luke Skywalker, then she _definitely_ knew that the famous Han Solo and the famous Leia Organa were married and had a son. Maybe this was a scheme to get Han to cheat on his wife. For that matter, maybe she was working for some tabloid and planning to force-kiss Han so some hiding holographer could paste their image all over the tabloid and claim that he was cheating on Leia. It sure as hell wouldn’t surprise Han if Qi’ra worked for a sleezy tabloid. 

“Han?”

Only then did he realize she was talking to him. He stared into his drink, refusing to answer or look at her, struggling not to return to the day when she took off without him and he’d watched her disappear. 

She sighed. “Han, I understand if you don’t want to talk to me. I hurt you and I don’t deserve forgiveness.”

“What are you doin’ here?” Han growled.

“Having a drink. Same as you and your friends.”

“Yeah?” Han continued, still refusing to look at her. “You didn’t hear from some holonews source that Han Solo hangs out here with his friends most weekend nights? You weren’t planning to bump into me?”

“Why would I?”

“I dunno, maybe you’ve heard that Han Solo is _married_ to someone who’s a thousand times the woman you’ll _ever_ be!” Suddenly he leapt out of his seat, glaring her in the eyes. “Maybe you think you can show me some cleavage and I’ll get overcome with desire and cheat on my _wife._ Well that ain’t gonna happen, so you might as well not waste your time.” With that, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. “Here, take a look my _family_ that you ain’t part of!”

He opened the wallet’s holo section, shoving the tiny holoscreen into her face. “Look, see? Here’s me and Leia at our wedding.” He shifted to another holo. “And there’s our son Ben when he was first born. Cute little guy, ain’t he?” A smile ghosted in his face as he glanced at his baby before shifting to another holo. “And look, here’s Leia and me dancing at one of her fancy senate balls.” Another shift. “And here’s the three of us at the beach. That’s when Ben built his first sandcastle. Well, he needed help, of course, but he got the basic jist of putting wet sand in a bucket and turning the bucket over.” Another holo shift, and by now Han’s smile was prominent. “Here’s Leia when she was pregnant. Such a beauty.”

Somehow Han ended up showing Qi’ra all the holos he kept in his wallet and by the time he was done, he found that he didn’t feel much like yelling anymore. Qi’ra, meanwhile, was smiling – that infectious smile he remembered from their youth, back when he used to dream of spending the rest of his life with her. Maybe he should actually thank her for leaving since that freed him up for someone much better.

“You have a lovely family, Han,” Qi’ra was saying. “I’d love to meet them sometime.”

“Why?” Han exclaimed as he repocketed his wallet. “Cause you wish you were part of it? _That_ ship took off a long time ago, _sweetheart_ – in fact, _you_ were the one flyin’ it.”

“Next round of drinks says Han’ll have to be kicked outta here!” Lando shouted, raising his hand. “Who’s up?”

“I’m not betting against that,” said Luke, leaning back in his seat and folding his arms.

Chewie roared in agreement.

Han paid his friends no mind – he just kept staring at Qi’ra. “You still workin’ for Crimson Dawn, or does Crimson Dawn not exist anymore? I ain’t exactly been in the smuggler’s loop lately, but I’m sure there are more than enough crime syndicates for you to join if they’re no longer around.”

Qi’ra glanced at her feet. “I meant it when I said you were the good guy and you proved me right, over and over again. Maybe if _I’d_ had the courage to join the Rebellion like you, my life would be different.”

“So you _do_ still work for Crimson Dawn.” Han found himself unable to stop the hurt from coming through in his voice.

Now Qi’ra was staring at her sleeve, which Han guessed still covered the Crimson Dawn brand on her wrist. “No, Crimson Dawn disbanded. After that I went stowing away from planet to planet, taking whatever odd jobs I could get, then the Rebels won the war and I found something like a steady job here with a boss willing to look the other way from my, ah, _questionable_ past.”

“What kinda job?”

There was a small, embarrassed smile on her face. “Children’s entertainer at the library. I read stories, help put on puppet shows, sometimes I even dress up and sing songs. You should bring your boy sometime – I bet he would like it.” She reached in her pocket and pulled out a small library flyer. “Here’s the address.”

“Children’s entertainer . . .” Han mumbled as he took the flyer, seeing that it contained not just the library’s address, but also the schedule of children’s events for the next month. “Huh, Ben probably _would_ like Song and Story Night – is that where you dress up and sing?”

“Yes,” said Qi’ra. “The kids get up and dance and sing along – it’s adorable.” Now her smile was more content than it had been. “Not the most glamorous job in the world, but it gives me a chance to give kids what we _didn’t_ have.”

“Yeah,” said Han, putting the flyer in his pocket next to his wallet, “I wanna give Ben what we didn’t have too.”

“So you’ll come?” asked Qi’ra.

Han cocked his head in disbelief that the conversation had turned in this direction. “I’ll run the idea by Leia, we’ll see.”

Qi’ra nodded. “Well, maybe I’ll see you sometime soon, then.” She looked up at the others, who were staring rather aghast. “You could all come if you want.” She turned back to Han. “Well, tell your wife and son how lucky they are to have you in their lives.” With that, she headed back to the bar, disappearing into the crowd.

Han felt like he was in a daze, fingering the flyer in his pocket just to make sure that had really happened. As he sat back down, he noticed that the other three were still staring in the direction Qi’ra had headed.

“Children’s entertainer – who’d have thought?” asked Lando.

Han loudly cleared his throat to get their attention. “All right guys, since I _didn’t_ get kicked outta here, that means you _all_ lose the bet and you’ve gotta buy _memade_ the bet!”

“It’s either buy me drinks or join Leia and me when we bring Ben to the library,” Han said with a smirk. “And don’t forget to sing along!”

THE END


End file.
